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Friday, July 15, 2005

Bollywood film Krrish to showcase Singapore

By Vinita Ramani, TODAY13 July 2005If you happen to be strolling along the Singapore River, Chinatown or the Esplanade sometime between September and November, you may spot a film crew with cameras pointed at a group of Indians dancing up a storm. But it won't be a rehearsal for a Deepavali celebration. Bollywood star Hrithik Roshan is coming to town.Roshan is known for his role in the 2001 family saga blockbuster Kabhi Khushi, Kabhi Gham (Sometimes happiness, sometimes sorrow). Scheduled for a June 2006 release, Krrish is helmed by the renowned director Rakesh Roshan.

The film will be shot in various locations, including the Singapore Zoo, the Esplanade, Pulau Ubin and Chinatown. While other Bollywood films, including Vaada (Promise) last year, feature Singapore locations, Krrish is unique in that up to 60 per cent of the movie will feature the Garden City.

An agreement between Roshan's Filmkraft and the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) allows the team to shoot with full permission from the authorities, reported Indian website apunkachoice.com.

"The agreement was the result of the Singapore Tourism Board's Film in Singapore initiative," said Mr Edward Chew, STB's area director for western India. "Besides providing financial incentives to these producers, STB also provides the necessary information and location assistance so producers can manage their filming project easily and seamlessly."

"The exposure for Singapore in the film is expected to be significant, both in India and across the Indian diaspora globally. Bollywood is the biggest film industry in the world and the Indian market is proving to be one of our key growth markets this year. Having the film shot in Singapore will undoubtedly increase the awareness and visibility of the Uniquely Singapore branding," said Chew.

"I always wanted to shoot a film in Singapore, but somehow I never got the script," Rakesh Roshan told rediff.com. Now, with both a script and the support of the Film in Singapore! scheme, millions of Bollywood fans see Singapore like they have never seen it before. - TODAY/jt

--------------Editor's Note:If this piece of news does not appear new to you, it would be interesting to note that Ubin Stories picked up the news from rediff.com prior to Channelnewsasia. Perhaps a more exciting prospect for Ubin Stories, as Sivasothi suggested, that perhaps I should take a trip down to Ubin when the film is being shot on Ubin! Look out for possible live coverage from between September to November then!